Pathways to Permanency

The Pathways to Permanency Program (P2P) strives to strengthen and support families in providing foster and adoptive children with a nurturing and stable home environment. The program offers services that include caregiver consultation, specialized support services, and workshops/trainings. The P2P model of service centers on taking into account the specific needs of foster/adoptive children and their families as well as the overarching impact of trauma. These services are provided by clinicians with extensive experience working with childhood trauma and foster care and adoption related issues.
Consultation services are flexible and developed around the specific needs of each family. Short-term and long-term consultation is available as well as long-distance consultation via Skype or telephone.

Caregiver consultation services may be used to assist families with:

Determining whether becoming a foster or adoptive parent is right for your family.

Deciding whether a specific child placement is a good match for your family.

Identifying and obtaining needed services to best support you and your child.

Parenting a child with a history of trauma.

Managing the complexities of relationships with birth families, service providers, and previous caregivers.

Preparing siblings for the arrival of a new foster or adoptive child and/or addressing challenges that may arise between siblings.

Supporting foster and pre-adoptive families at risk for placement disruption.

Specialized support services may be provided in the context of family consultation including:

Supporting a child and family with the transitions from a residential placement to a foster/pre-adoptive home or foster home to a pre-adoptive home.

Supporting reunification of child/children from foster or residential care back to the birth family.

Working with sibling groups who are being reunited in a pre-adoptive home.

Enhancing bonding and attachment between caregivers and their children.

Parent training through Parent-Child Interaction Therapy – Adaptations (PCIT-A), an intervention that focuses on improving the caregiver-child relationship while also working to increase children’s positive behaviors.

Workshops and trainings to foster care and adoption agencies is also available regarding trauma and adoption-related issues such as:

Understanding the impact of trauma.

The importance of permanency for children involved in the child welfare system.

How to support attachment with children who have experienced trauma.

P2P is now located at two sites through the Justice Resource Institute – The Trauma Center in Brookline, MA and Metrowest Behavioral Health Center in Acton, MA.

For more information about the “Pathways to Permanency Program” or to make a referral for services: